Zeta Phi Beta Sorority kicked off the competition during the step show that followed a 28 to 2 thrashing of Lincoln University Lions of Pennsylvania by the Bowie State Bulldogs at the Fifth Annual Prince George’s Classic.
The Zetas, clad in matching black bob-styled wigs, captured first place for the sororities with a $1,000 cash prize beating out Sigma Gamma Rho, the only other female steppers to perform Saturday inside the packed auditorium of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt.
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity also took home $1,000, besting Kappa Alpha Psi and Phi Beta Sigma who took second ($700) and third ($500) respectively.
Stepping competitions have a long history in Black Greek letter organizations that often incorporate chants and props, such as canes, to enhance the performance. Teams are judged on a number of criteria including originality, costume and precision.
Aleeyia Henderson, 12, a member on her own step team, attends Mount Calvary Catholic School in Forestville and came to see impressive moves. Sporting a tee-shirt repping the popular Jabbawockeez dance team, Henderson said good steppers “have to have a lot of stamina, and can’t be wishy-washy. You have to be tight and a person who knows what they are doing and do it well.”
The Zetas must have been listening. During their routine, five of the seven dancers leaned backward holding the pose with their bodies interlocking to form a horizontal bridge firm enough for the other members to step across. The crowd approved.
Even before the official competition began, the audience was wowed by Roosevelt’s own step team, Dem Raider Boys, who stomped as if they where breaking though the hard wood while they urged everyone to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
But the real show stealers were three 6-year-olds known as the Sigma Babies from William E. Doar Elementary in the District. The pint-size trio ran through a series of moves that made their elders proud. The group is being mentored by a local Sigma chapter that wants to get youngsters thinking about college in first grade.
For the younger audience members, the step show doubled as a live-action commercial for the excitement of college life. Debi Bailey-Mahdi, a vender who pledged Delta Sigma Theta at Florida A&M in 1981, hoped young people would join a Greek letter organization and embrace a life of service.
“A lot of Greeks have gone out and tried get people registered (to vote) in Virginia given that Virginia is very competitive this year,” said Bailey-Mahdi, commenting on the social commitment fraternities and sororities often display. Her Riverdale-based business, Debi’s Ordinary People, sells Black Greek paraphernalia to colleges and universities.
--PGS Staff
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